Hollywood actor Charles Castle is pressured by his studio boss into a criminal cover-up to protect his valuable career.

Charles Castle is a successful Hollywood actor who has opted for screen success over art. He must make critical decisions regarding his career, his marriage, his art and morality. Castle is pressured by his studio boss, and manipulated into a potentially murderous cover-up to protect his career. An indictment of the amoral world of Hollywood and its corrosive effect upon the artist.—Thomas Robbin

Charlie Castle (Jack Palance), a very successful Hollywood actor, lives in a huge home with all the amenities associated with his stardom. Influential gossip columnist Patty Benedict (Ilka Chase) visits him to get the lowdown on his marriage, but Castle refuses to confirm anything for her. His wife Marion (Ida Lupino) has taken their young son and is living separately from him; she is, in fact, on the verge of filing for divorce. She has had enough of his drunken womanizing and of his having relinquished his ideals for lower Hollywood expectations. Indignant at her rebuff, Benedict threatens Castle that she intends to dig into a certain dark incident in his past. Both know what she is talking about. Marion does not want Castle to renew his contract with powerful studio boss Stanley Shriner Hoff (Rod Steiger), and will not agree to a reconciliation with her husband if he signs. An emotionally-tortured Castle wants desperately to win back Marion, who has been proposed to by writer, and friend of Castle's, Hank Teagle (Wesley Addy). Castle agrees, wanting to be free of the studio's grip on his life and his career, and to be able to do more inspiring work than the schlock films Hoff pushes on him. He pleads with his needy agent, Nat (Everett Sloane), to help him be free. However, Nat is aware that Hoff and his right-hand man, Smiley Coy (Wendell Corey), have knowledge of the truth behind a hit-and-run accident in which Castle was behind the wheel and which resulted in a death. Castle's friend, Buddy Bliss (Paul Langton), took the blame for the accident and served time for it. Hoff and Coy arrive at Castle's house to close the deal. Castle's defiance enrages Hoff, who is willing to do anything, including blackmail regarding the accident, to force the actor to commit to a seven-year deal. After staring the inevitable in the face Castle backs down and signs the new contract. Buddy's lascivious wife, Connie (Jean Hagen), comes by; despondent, Castle allows the darker side of his nature to prevail and he sleeps with her. Subsequently, Marion and Hank attend a gathering at Castle's place after which Castle prevails upon his wife to listen once again to his reasoning as to why they should reunite. She eventually leaves with Hank but is actually having second thoughts about Castle. Meanwhile, Smiley, who has been attending a party at one of Castle's neighbors, drops in to tell the actor that Dixie Evans (Shelley Winters), a struggling starlet who happens to have been in the car with Castle the night of the accident, is threatening to reveal what she knows about the crash. Smiley suggests Castle invite her over, to talk and see if he can persuade her to keep quiet. Castle does so and is sympathetic to her feelings about being treated shabbily and disregarded as an actress. She wants to damage Hoff, not Castle. Having had Hank take her back to Castle, Marion arrives while Dixie is there. The actress immediately leaves and the couple have an intense conversation; Marion makes it clear she is at least willing to try again to rekindle their marriage. Subsequently, Dixie goes to Hoff's office and causes such an upheaval that the studio head and Smiley decide that she must be permanently silenced. Smiley lays out a plan to achieve this to Castle which involves murder. Finally spurred to stand up for his ideals, the actor summons Hoff and Nat and, with Marion present and now aware of Dixie's presence the night of the accident, defies these ruthless men who employ him. He also mandates that nothing should happen to Dixie. Hoff and Smiley try one more extortion ploy, producing recordings secretly made of Marion with Hank. Neither Marion nor Castle are moved by this attempt and, finally, an outraged Hoff lets Castle go. "You're through," Smiley tells the actor. After a brief, quiet respite, Buddy storms in to reveal that he has discovered Castle's fling with Connie. Rather than take Castle up on his offer to allow himself to be hit, Buddy spits in his face. Castle asks for a bath to be drawn and, after pledging to Marion "a better future," goes upstairs. Smiley returns to telephone Hoff and let him know that Dixie, staggering out of a bar and into the street, was struck and killed by a city bus. Despite seemingly redeeming himself in many ways, Castle is devastated by his betrayal of a friend, the sacrifice of his integrity and the anguish he has caused to the woman he adores. Upon realizing water is flowing upstairs and through the ceiling below, Smiley, Marion, and Nat break into the bathroom. As Marion screams, Smiley gets on the phone and tells the studio that Castle died of a heart attack, while also saying to tell Stanley that he slashed himself three times. Marion grieves, as the camera pulls back and reveals we're watching her wails on a cinema screen.—Huggo